


we're on each other's team

by aceofdiamonds



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Family Bonding, Gen, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-17
Updated: 2014-03-17
Packaged: 2018-01-16 02:18:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1328248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aceofdiamonds/pseuds/aceofdiamonds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a conversation between carl, debbie and their dad</p>
            </blockquote>





	we're on each other's team

**Author's Note:**

> this is what my brain came up with at four am when i couldn't sleep. i've always loved frank's relationship with the younger ones, however dysfunctional they may be. set around season one or before ish.

Frank breaks Ian's nose during Christmas dinner. 

It doesn't even make the top three of most Eventful Gallagher Christmases. One year Monica had almost burned the house down when she tried making turkey and another time they had to hide Frank from the police -- both equally messy.

It was too much to ask, maybe. Having the whole family, Monica excluded, around the table on a day with guaranteed high emotions and food consumption. 

And so Lip and Ian traipse off to the hospital with a bag of frozen peas and everyone else scrambles for a place on the couch to watch whatever shit is on every year like this is something normal. It is, for a Gallagher.  

Carl finds himself wedged between the arm and Frank. He rests his foot on his dad's thigh, watching The Muppets through half-shut eyes, his belly full of chicken and potatoes and the swigs of beer he slipped from Ian when he wasn't looking. He groans and lets his head fall back against the couch when another song starts up. Why did they let Liam pick? There's probably a really violent gunfight on one of the other channels right now. 

"Wanna hear a secret, my boy?" he hears halfway through the film. Carl turns to see Frank leaning towards him, his eyes bleary and his mouth wide. His breath doesn't smell too strong yet. Maybe Carl's used to it by now. 

"What?"

"You're my favourite kid." 

It makes Carl grin before he knows what he's doing. He's heard Lip's warnings and Fiona's rants -- never get too attached, never listen to anything he says -- and Ian's away with a. bloody nose, but he says this in a whisper, like it's something just for the two of them and yeah, it makes Carl pretty happy. "Sweet." 

"Dad," Debbie whines from his other side. "That's not fair." And she's the one who persuaded Fiona to let Frank stay after he head-butted Ian so maybe she has a point but Carl sniggers anyway and leans forward to stick out his tongue. She glares back. Sucker. 

"Hush, Debs. Alright, how's about this? You, Carl. You're my favourite son and Debbie, you're my best little girl." He tucks an arm around Debbie's shoulder, jostling Liam whose eyes are fixed on that weird Elmo creature, and his other hand, the one holding his beer, pats at Carl's knee. "Okay?" 

"Just remember that when he's calling you a bitch in ten years," Fiona says from the chair across the room, the roll of her eyes just this side of joking. 

Frank makes a sound of protest, Debbie coming to his defence, and Carl shrugs and leans in a little so he can feel the warmth of his dad against his side. There's time for more disappointment later. He's tired just now. 


End file.
